The New Girl
by sallieandbialk
Summary: A new girl [from America] arrives at Hogwarts during everyone's senior year. Neville's hot, and he and Ron fight over the newbie! Interest and intrigue. R/R.
1. The New Girl

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We did not create the magical world of Hogwarts, and all the characters therein (although we wish we  
  
did). Those characters and environments were created by J.K. Rowling. The only things belonging to  
  
us in this fanfic are the characters of Sallie McFly, Madam Finbar, Madam Rabatin, and another to  
  
come (there'll be another announcement when they show up). Til then, R/R please. Thanks.  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
"This is it guys, our last year." Harry said as he looked at the magic ceiling.  
  
  
  
"I know, I really am going to miss it here," sighed Hermione.  
  
  
  
"Hey, isn't that girl a little old to be a first year?" asked Ron. He pointed to the line of kids waiting  
  
to be sorted. There was indeed a girl that looked just about as old as the three of them. Hermione  
  
shrugged and Harry shook his head. Ron turned again but was then distracted by the feast that had  
  
appeared at the Gryffindor table.  
  
  
  
Hermione looked up from the book she was reading as Professor McGonagall stood before her with  
  
another girl by her side. It was the girl from the sorting ceremony. She was wearing black Gryffindor  
  
robes. She was taller then Hermione, with choppy, shoulder length brown hair and big brown eyes that  
  
hid behind her black rimmed glasses.  
  
  
  
"Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall, "This is Sallie McFly; she is a transfer from the Salem  
  
Institute of Witchcraft in the United States. She'll be rooming with you here. She is a Gryffindor now,  
  
I want you to treat her as one and since you are our new head girl, I'm sure you'll find no trouble in  
  
showing her around." Hermione smiled at the new girl and Professor McGonagall disappeared.  
  
  
  
"Hello Sallie, welcome. I'm Hermione. I'm sure Professor McGonagall told you most of the things  
  
you'll need to know, but I'll explain what I can, which is almost anything."  
  
Sallie blinked a few times and finally said, "Wow, hi. Sorry, I just still can't believe I'm actually  
  
here. It's so cool." The two girls strolled through out the castle, talking about classes, Muggles, and  
  
everything else that two young witches could talk about.  
  
  
  
"So, you're American? What was the school you went to again?" Hermione asked.  
  
  
  
"The Salem Institute of Witchcraft."  
  
  
  
"Why'd you transfer here? I don't mean to sound nosy, I'm just curious."  
  
  
  
Sallie smiled at her. "Well, I was doing really well there and everyone thought it would be better if I  
  
went to a more challenging school. Hogwarts is the best. My father went here when he was younger,  
  
so he really wanted me to come here."  
  
  
  
"You must be really good then. What's your best subject?" Hermione said.  
  
  
  
"Charms. They're my favorite," said Sallie.  
  
  
  
"Me too! This is good. We can try some out later on in the dorm. For now, is there anything else  
  
you'd like to see?"  
  
  
  
"Yes. Salem was an all girls school. I want to see some British boys. How's your Quidditch  
  
team?" The girls laughed and headed outside to the field. 


	2. Meeting the Gang

Harry blinked in the sunlight. He looked at his teammates. "This year will be our greatest year yet!"  
  
He said to them. "We're mostly all seventh years so I think we'll do quite well. I'm changing the line-  
  
up a bit. Lavender, I think you'll do better as a chaser. Ron, you'll be our keeper."  
  
  
  
"Yes sir Captain Potter." Ron laughed as he circled the field on Fred's old broom. "I still can't  
  
believe that!" He laughed again, and then landed softly on the grass in front of Hermione, who was  
  
approaching with the girl from the sorting ceremony. Harry noticed them too and turned to his team,  
  
"That's enough for today. We'll pick it up again on Thursday, same time." He walked over to the  
  
girls and Ron.  
  
  
  
"Hello. I want you to meet Sallie McFly. She's transferred here from America. Sallie, this is Ron  
  
Weasley and Harry Potter, our fearless Quidditch captain." Hermione said.  
  
  
  
Sallie smiled at both of them; she turned to Harry and said, "So you're the famous Harry Potter. At  
  
Salem, we have whole classes about you! Don't worry though, the Harry Potter course is one of the  
  
most popular classes to take. You're a real stud in America." All Harry could do was blush.  
  
Then she turned to Ron. "I think I've heard of you too, or your brother at least. Charlie Weasley, your  
  
brother right?" Ron nodded. "When we did our dragon unit last year his name came up a lot. It really  
  
is a pleasure meeting you both."  
  
  
  
"Well then, we'll look forward to getting to know you a bit better," said Ron. Harry turned to  
  
Hermione, "We'll meet you for lunch in around a half hour. Will you be joining us Sallie?" Sallie  
  
looked at Hermione, who smiled and nodded, "Oh yes, I think we'll all get along great."  
  
  
  
She was right. Lunch went better than expected. It was almost as if Sallie had been part of the gang  
  
since the first year.  
  
"So what classes does everyone have?" asked Harry. The four of them pulled out their schedules.  
  
"Hmm, today I have Herbology 7th year first, Advanced Charms, and Transfiguration." said  
  
Hermione as she looked over her paper.  
  
  
  
"That's what I have too." said Ron.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, me too." said Sallie.  
  
  
  
Soon, all four were sitting in Charms, waiting for Professor Flitwick to start the lesson. Sallie was  
  
seated next to a tall boy with dark hair and dark intense eyes. He glanced at her for a moment, but  
  
quickly looked away when she smiled at him. Standing next to Professor Flitwick, was a young  
  
woman, who was looking nervously at the class. She towered above the professor, well, everyone  
  
towers above him. She was wearing long purple robes. She had short blonde hair and blue eyes and  
  
she was holding a well worn- in wand.  
  
  
  
Professor Flitwick climbed up onto a stack of books, like usual, and cleared his throat. "Welcome  
  
7th years to Advanced Charms. Now that you know all the basics that you will need, it's time to have  
  
some fun. We like to do a lot of neat stuff with our 7th years and I'm sure you will all succeed quite  
  
nicely. Standing next to me, is my new teaching assistant, Madam Mickey Finbar. She's here to learn  
  
more about teaching from America. I expect her to be treated with the same respect as any other  
  
professor." The young woman smiled at the students, who weren't terribly impressed. Professor  
  
Flitwick continued, "Before we begin anything, I'm going to call roll. When your name is called  
  
please come up to the front to demonstrate the spells you had to work on during the summer holidays."  
  
All the kids looked around nervously, except for Hermione and Sallie. Hermione knew her spells  
  
inside and out. She had spent the majority of her holidays reading and practicing magic; even though  
  
she knew she wasn't supposed to. Sallie hadn't gotten an assignment for the holidays, but she was  
  
confident anyway. 


	3. Charms Class

One by one, the students demonstrated their charms. Some were better than others were of course,  
  
and there were different levels of skills one needed for certain charms. When it was Hermione's turn,  
  
she sauntered up to the front of the room very casually. "Are you ready Ms. Granger? What was the  
  
assignment you had?" Professor Flitwick asked.  
  
  
  
Hermione smiled and said, "I'll need someone to help me out." Even though Seamus volunteered, he  
  
looked nervous as she waved her wand at him and said, "Maturarte senescere!" No sooner that the  
  
words had left her mouth, a cloud of smoke circled around Seamus. When it cleared, there was still  
  
some one there, but a much older someone. Seamus had aged twenty years!  
  
  
  
He still had the same dark hair, although there wasn't as much of it, and smirking smile, but he looked  
  
more rugged. His usual smooth skin was now tougher looking and his body was taller and much  
  
heavier. He looked around, not knowing what to think.  
  
  
  
Professor Flitwick clapped his hands so hard he almost fell off his stack of books. "Very good  
  
Hermione, very good. The aging spell is a difficult one to master." Hermione looked pleased.  
  
  
  
"Do you want me to make him young again professor?" she asked.  
  
  
  
He shook his head, "No, no, I will... actually, Madam Finbar, could you please do the honors? We  
  
have yet to see you in action." The young assistant stood up slowly. She smiled at Seamus and waved  
  
her wand. "Maturarte non senescere!" Another cloud of smoke appeared and soon, Seamus was back  
  
to his normal, teenaged self. He smiled back at Madam Finbar. She wasn't bad at all. It might be nice  
  
to have a fresh face in Charms class.  
  
  
  
Soon after Hermione's turn, the professor called Sallie's name. Madam Finbar looked at her. Sallie  
  
looked vaguely familiar to her. Sallie approached the front of the room gracefully. She smiled at the  
  
professor, who said to her, "Now Sallie, I know you're new to Hogwarts and I don't quite know what  
  
you're capable of, so I'm just going to give you something easy to do now. Every one else had all  
  
summer to prepare for theirs, so it'll be ok if you haven't really gotten it yet." Sallie nodded.  
  
Professor Flitwick placed a cup of water in front of her. "All you have to do is make my water fizzy."  
  
  
  
She nodded again, and then stared at the cup, thinking for a moment. Then she waved her wand and  
  
said, "Sibilare!" The cup rocked for a moment, and then a small explosion came out of it. Professor  
  
peered into the cup. He shook it a little, and then took a sip. "Perfect Ms. McFly. Those American  
  
witches have taught you well. Would you like to try a harder spell?" he asked.  
  
  
  
"All right." she said. "Can I pick it out?" At that moment, Madam Finbar realized who Sallie  
  
reminded her of. She smiled as Sallie waved her wand again. "Pluvia Aridus!" she cried. A flash of  
  
lightning and a crack of thunder came from the ceiling and soon it was raining inside. Everyone  
  
looked up and watched it, but not one person got the slightest bit wet. Professor Flitwick clapped so  
  
hard that he actually did fall off his stack of books this time.  
  
  
  
"Well done! Very well done. Why, I don't think I can even do that spell as well as that. Wonderful  
  
Sallie. You'll do splendidly here."  
  
  
  
Sallie made her rain cease and went back to her seat. The boy smiled at her. "That was so nice!" he  
  
said. "I've never seen someone our age pull a charm as good as that, not even Hermione." Sallie  
  
started to thank him, but before she could, Professor Flitwick looked up at the boy.  
  
  
  
"Longbottom, it's your turn, come on now. Let's see it Neville." The boy got up slowly and dragged  
  
his feet to the front of the room. He gave another boy in the back a look. The other boy joined him.  
  
Neville turned to Professor Flitwick, "Dean is going to help me." He said, and then turned his  
  
attention to Dean.  
  
  
  
"Levisomnus!" he said with a flick of his wand. As he said it, the other boy fell to the floor in a deep  
  
sleep. A few minutes later, Dean woke up screaming. When everyone turned to see what was wrong,  
  
he looked around and realized where he was and why he was on the floor.  
  
  
  
"I had a nightmare," he explained.  
  
  
  
Professor Flitwick shook his head and groaned, "Neville, that spell is for people to  
  
daydream, not nightmare. You really need to work on your charms." For a moment Neville looked  
  
like he was going to cry, "Yes sir." he said, then he and Dean took their seats.  
  
  
  
On the way out of class, Madam Finbar pulled Sallie aside. "You know, you look familiar and I  
  
know you're from Salem. I'm a graduate of ol' SIW myself. Do you happen to know an Alexa  
  
Mariposa? She's an old friend of mine, you look just like her." Sallie's eyes got wider and she  
  
laughed a little. "Do I know her? Wow, you know her? That's so weird." Madam Finbar looked  
  
confused.  
  
  
  
Sallie laughed again. "She's my mother." 


	4. 2 Boys, 2 Conversations

Sallie made it through the rest of the day, with a lot of help from Hermione, Ron, and Harry. After  
  
dinner, Harry told the gang he had to go see Hagrid. He asked Ron to join him, but he wanted to go  
  
back to the dorm. He had challenged Dean to a round of wizard chess. Hermione was off to the  
  
library. Ever since their charms class she had been talking about better charms that she could do. She  
  
had to go find some of the harder ones that she could use to show up Sallie's. Sallie wanted to get  
  
back to the dorms too. She was tired. Hogwarts was around four times the size of Salem. She wasn't  
  
used to so much walking to get everywhere. They all said, "See you later." and Harry headed for the  
  
forest, Hermione for the library, and Ron and Sallie walked together back to the Gryffindor common  
  
room.  
  
  
  
"So what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" Ron asked. Sallie smiled. She had a wide friendly  
  
smile. "I love it. It's so big and old. There's so much history to it. Everyone's been really nice. I  
  
guess it's all that British charm." Ron rolled his eyes, Sallie noticed but continued, "I think the best  
  
part though, is the boys." Now Ron was blushing. "What? Salem was an all girls school. Witches  
  
only. I hardly ever met any nice wizards or warlocks. It was terrible, but Hogwarts, oh yes.  
  
Wonderfully co-ed Hogwarts is a new and exciting adventure, with a cute British accent."  
  
Ron laughed. "You're a nut. You know, you're the one with the accent here. You and your  
  
cute American accent. Remember, you're in Britain. You can't say we have accents. You do because  
  
you're the foreigner."  
  
  
  
"Ron, shut up. You're babbling." She said as they reached the portrait of the woman in the pink  
  
dress. He blushed so much his cheeks were as red as his hair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."  
  
  
  
"It's ok though," she said, "'cause even babbling can sound cute with a British accent." Then she  
  
turned and entered the common room. Inside, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Dean and Seamus  
  
had already started playing chess. Lavender was sitting near the fire braiding a younger girl's long red  
  
hair. The younger girl smiled at Ron. "My sister." he said, waving back. Then Ron went to go join  
  
Dean and Seamus. Sitting in the far corner of the room was Neville, the boy who Sallie talked to in  
  
Charms. He sat with an open book in his lap. He was taking notes from it, and looking very  
  
frustrated. Sallie decided to say hi. She sat in the chair besides his.  
  
  
  
"Hi. Neville, right?" She smiled at him again and put out her hand. "You look like you could use a  
  
break."  
  
He took her hand and pumped it. "Hello, yes, I guess so." He looked a bit confused.  
  
"I'm Sallie. Nice meeting you." Neville looked a bit more relaxed. "What are you working on?" she  
  
asked.  
  
  
  
"Charms. You were there. I have to figure out how to fix this daydream spell so Dean doesn't have  
  
any more nightmares."  
  
Sallie giggled a little. "It's a common mistake. I think I've done that a couple of times. I can  
  
do it now though. If you want me to help you, I'd be glad to." By the time Ron had beaten Dean in  
  
chess three times in a row, Neville had his daydream charm perfected. When they were finished,  
  
Neville turned to Sallie.  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
  
  
"You just did, but, go ahead."  
  
  
  
"Why are you helping me? Actually, why are you even talking to me? No one talks to me." A hint  
  
of sadness glistened in his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Why not?" Sallie said. "I happen to think you are a very nice person, Neville. You were cool  
  
today in Charms. I think you'd make a wonderful friend and since I'm new here, I might as well pick  
  
out the wonderful friends before my welcome wears off." Neville smiled. The fire was slowly  
  
burning away, and the two sat up, talking and laughing, quietly of course, but still very much into the  
  
conversation.  
  
  
  
When Sallie had finally gotten to her room, she was expecting to find the whole room asleep, but  
  
Hermione, Lavender and Parvati were still wide-awake, giggling and chatting.  
  
  
  
"Hey Sallie. What were you up to with Neville?" asked Lavender.  
  
  
  
"Just talking to him. He's a real sweetie. Why?"  
  
"Because Neville is... is... well, I don't know what he is. He's Neville," said Hermione.  
  
Sallie laughed. "Ok. What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, we've all known Neville since first year, and he's always been kind of dorky," said Parvati.  
  
"Actually girls, have you noticed that Neville kind of, grew over the summer?" said Lavender.  
  
"Well, yeah, he is taller than last year," Hermione said.  
  
"He got hotter too. He filled in very well. I like what he did with his hair. I wonder if anything else  
  
happened" said Parvati with a mad glint in her eye.  
  
"Parvati!" Sallie could only gape at Parvati's words.  
  
"I'm just saying..."  
  
"So Sallie, now that Neville's a hottie, you think you're going to have a thing with him?" asked  
  
Lavender.  
  
"I just met him today!" Sallie shouted as she crawled into bed. "Whatever. We have Modern Muggle  
  
Living and Potions tomorrow morning, remember? I don't know about you, but I could use some  
  
sleep. Hogwarts is exhausting," Sallie yawned. "G'night everybody." 


	5. Modern Muggle Living

The next morning at breakfast Sallie sat between Ron and Neville. Hermione and Harry sat  
  
across from them. Hermione noticed that Sallie, who had been all chummy with Neville last night,  
  
wasn't saying much to him now. That could've been because he was eating slowly with his head down,  
  
almost in his plate. It also could've been because Sallie was a new audience for all of Ron's bad jokes.  
  
She knew they were bad, but she laughed anyway. Hermione found she would rather have Sallie  
  
flirting with Neville, since he looked so lonesome, so she kicked Sallie under the table. She swung  
  
around and smiled at him but Ron was impatient and turned her back to hear his impression of Madam  
  
Hooch. On their way to class, Hermione and Sallie were joined by Neville.  
  
  
  
"Neville! What's up?" said Sallie. "On your way to Madam Rabatin's class Neville?" asked  
  
Hermione. He nodded. "I don't get that class. I don't plan on living like a muggle, so I don't know  
  
why we should be learning about it." The girls giggled.  
  
  
  
"Well, I have to go. I'm going to meet Harry at the library." Said Hermione.  
  
  
  
"You don't have this class?" Neville and Sallie asked at the same time. Hermione laughed,  
  
  
  
"No, it's only for purebloods. I've lived with muggles all my life, I don't need this class," she said as  
  
she turned and walked away. The two remaining went in and sat in the seats Ron had been saving for  
  
them. He was about to say something when his eyes narrowed on the boy that walked in. He was  
  
wearing Slytherin robes. Ron sneered. "This class must be split." Sallie said casually, just assuming  
  
that Ron didn't like Slytherins.  
  
  
  
"Do you know who that is?" He asked her. She shook her head. "That is Draco Malfoy. He's no  
  
good. If you're lucky, you'll be able to stay away from him." Sallie looked at the boy. He wasn't bad  
  
looking. Blonde slicked back hair, gray eyes, and a kind of silly, yet evil grin. She looked back at  
  
Ron, who was just shaking his head. He stared at the desk and doodled. Then she looked at Neville,  
  
as if to ask him if what Ron had said about the Slytherin boy. Neville understood and nodded. Soon  
  
enough, Draco Malfoy himself strolled over to where the three of them were sitting.  
  
  
  
"Who's this Weasley? Granger's replacement girl? You got sick of that annoying little twit, or  
  
did you just want to see what the American was like? She looks pretty cozy with Longbottom doesn't  
  
she," he said to Ron.  
  
  
  
"Suck it Malfoy. Go find Crabbe and Goyle. They'll help you. Suck it long and suck it hard."  
  
Ron growled at him. Sallie giggled a little under her breath. She'd never heard Ron talk like that  
  
before, but it was obvious that he was right about Malfoy. Draco was about to retaliate, but Madam  
  
Rabatin walked into the room.  
  
  
  
"Draco, please sit down, you're causing a distraction. Class has begun. Welcome everyone to Modern  
  
Muggle Living. This course is only for 7th years. This class is to teach you about the Muggle world,  
  
and how to get along if you ever find yourself there without any help. Of course, all of you are  
  
purebloods." When she said that Draco sneered, about to make a comment, but Madam Rabatin gave  
  
him a dirty look. "If you weren't you wouldn't be here. We won't be using any magic in this course.  
  
You'll learn how to cook, clean, and how to survive both on your own and without magic." The class  
  
ran without a hitch, as the students went through their first lesson: basic cooking skills.  
  
  
  
After class, she took Malfoy aside. "Listen, this is a learning environment but I also like my classes to  
  
be fun. If you try anything, and I mean, *anything* to live up to the sneaky rat name you've made for  
  
yourself, you'll be in Professor Dumbledore's office so fast that even you're big shot father won't be  
  
able to get you out of trouble." Ron overheard and couldn't help but smile as he walked out.  
  
  
  
He had to go meet Harry, who was spending his free time mapping out Quidditch plays on his  
  
broom. Sallie joined Ron. She wanted a little sunshine before Potions. They approached the field and  
  
Harry looked very distressed. "Lavender just quit the team. She said she was no good and that the  
  
only reason she was playing at all this year was because she's a 7th year. I tried to stop her but I  
  
couldn't! Now we're short a chaser. What should we do? We have to find one soon!"  
  
  
  
Ron thought a moment, "Move Ginny up to chaser. She's good. It'll be easier to find a beater.  
  
Don't worry Harry, or maybe you should, because if we don't hurry we'll be late for Potions. Snape  
  
will love that! Let's go!" 


	6. Potions and Punches

Harry, Ron, and Sallie rushed to Potions. Sallie tried to ask the boys about this class, but there  
  
wasn't enough time. They ran head on into the room, nearly colliding with Professor Snape as he  
  
entered the room. They reached their seats just as the bell rang. Sallie glanced over at Neville, who  
  
was already cringing at his desk.  
  
  
  
"Finally, you're all seventh years. Therefore, I'll be rid of you soon, but let's not try to do any  
  
damage to one another in the meantime," Snape said, with a meaningful glance in Neville's direction.  
  
Neville shrank even more and attempted to hide behind his cauldron. "As for the rest of you, we will  
  
be creating a Purifying Solution. This can be used to reduce any liquid substance to its most basic  
  
elements and is useful at sea to create potable water. However, it is very unstable. Can anyone explain  
  
why?"  
  
  
  
As usual, Hermione's hand shot up into the air, but to everyone's surprise, so did Sallie's. The  
  
two of them were raising their hands so vigorously and were seated so closely, it was hard to tell them  
  
apart. However, Snape picked Sallie out from the melee. "Well, well, Miss McFly. A country not  
  
heard from. Why is the Purifying Solution so unstable?"  
  
  
  
"Well, the solution is unstable because of the lacewings. They are so fragile that they can not  
  
support the needs of the solution."  
  
  
  
"If that's true, Miss McFly, then why use them at all? Couldn't we find a substitute?"  
  
  
  
"It's been tried and has failed. The potion only works with the lacewings. Therefore, if you  
  
are making the potion to last for more than a day, you must add Japanese beetle shells every 24 hours.  
  
Otherwise, the potion will dry up and be unrecoverable."  
  
"A sufficient explanation, however, we use crushed scorpion shell. It is stronger than beetle  
  
shells. Everyone, pair up and begin crushing scorpion shells and dicing the hyssop roots. This potion  
  
needs to brew for 20 minutes, so you must hurry."  
  
  
  
A moment later, everyone was huddled around their cauldrons. Hermione and Sallie paired up  
  
at Sallie's cauldron. Hermione grabbed Sallie's arm and whispered, "I've got some great news."  
  
  
  
"What? Oh, Harry's found a new beater! Right?"  
  
  
  
"Erm, no. While you, Harry, and Ron were outside talking about Quidditch, Neville and I went  
  
to the library. He started talking about you helping him in the common room yesterday, and he  
  
wouldn't stop talking. Everything he said was Sallie this, and Sallie that, and he said he really likes  
  
you, but that you probably wouldn't like him." With that, Hermione sat down and started to dice  
  
hyssop roots. Sallie, however, was in shock. *Neville? Wow. I've only been here this long and  
  
already someone likes me? I'm so confused*. "Sallie! Sit down and start crushing the scorpion  
  
shells, otherwise Professor Snape'll come here and get angry."  
  
  
  
Sallie got to work, but kept stealing glances at Neville across the dungeon. She could barely  
  
keep her mind on her own work. She nearly crushed one of the hyssop roots, and then almost spilled  
  
the entire vial of distilled water. Hermione tried not to giggle, but Sallie's errors were quite laughable.  
  
Finally, Hermione added the shredded lemon zest and brought the solution to a rolling boil. Everyone  
  
else in the class was finished with their potions. There was a pleasantly clean scent in the air.  
  
  
  
All the potions had finished brewing, and Snape walked around, examining each's color and  
  
thickness. After his rounds, Snape returned to Neville's potion in order to demonstrate it to the rest of  
  
the class. "If Mr. Longbottom's potion works as it is supposed to, then this vial I hold should separate  
  
into two distinct sections of black ink and water. However, if it does not, as I suspect, then the vial  
  
will turn a bright crimson. Shall we?" Draco looked on with glee, hoping to see Neville belittled  
  
again. Hermione and Sallie sat with their fingers crossed behind their backs, hoping for the best.  
  
Neville simply sat in his normal, cringing position, ready to flee at the first chance.  
  
  
  
Snape added Neville's potion to the vial in his hand. The liquid in the vial started to separate,  
  
but never finished. Snape harrumphed. "I'm glad to see you've at least learned something over the  
  
past seven years. However, this potion is still incorrect. 10 points from Gryffindor." The bell finally  
  
rang, and everyone dashed out for lunch. Sallie, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Neville were a few steps  
  
out of the room when Sallie gasped and ran back to Potions.  
  
  
  
"Forgot my notebook," she called to the others over her shoulder. She ran back into the class and  
  
grabbed her forgotten Potions notebook. When she stepped out of the room, someone was waiting for  
  
her.  
  
  
  
"So, little Miss American thinks she's as good as the other little Miss Wonderful," Draco said,  
  
grabbing Sallie's arm and shoving her against the wall. He pushed his face up close to hers, so close  
  
she could feel his breath every time he exhaled. "I've got some news for you: both of you are  
  
just dirty stupid girls and are good for only one thing." At that, Draco reached out and tried to grab at  
  
Sallie's chest. Sallie, who'd been well-trained by her 3 older brothers, shot out her fist and caught  
  
Malfoy straight in the nose. She heard the satisfying crunch as his her knuckles collided with his face,  
  
then ran back to her friends, standing aghast in the corridor. She had taken one step when she felt  
  
another hand try to get a hold of her shoulder. She turned around, ready to attack, when she saw that it  
  
was Professor Snape. Sallie started to babble, trying to explain what had happened.  
  
  
  
"No need Miss McFly. I saw the entire incident, and understand your actions. However, the  
  
next time, please kindly consult a teacher first, before you inflict bodily harm. Now go on, run along."  
  
  
  
Sallie stood, amazed at what had happened. However, Ron's call woke her from her reverie.  
  
  
  
"Sallie, come on. I'm hungry, let's go!" She ran towards everyone, and they started for the Great  
  
Hall.  
  
  
  
"Nice punch Sallie," Harry said in admiration. "He'll have some nice black eyes thanks to you.  
  
Hey. I just had an idea. Do you think you could be our beater? You do a great job with your fists,  
  
you think you could do that with a bat?"  
  
  
  
"You really mean that? I'd love to be a beater! I've always wanted to. Every time I played at  
  
home my brothers would make me be keeper. They'll flip out when they hear about this. Me, on a  
  
Hogwarts team... on Harry Potter's team! Thanks. That just made my day." 


	7. This Might Get Awkward

The five walked quickly to lunch, laughing about Sallie's triumph and talking about how good  
  
she'd fare as a beater. Though this period had been divination for the last 3 years, they'd all  
  
decided to drop the class. Three years with Trelawney had been quite enough. After lunch,  
  
everyone split up again. Hermione had to go back to the library. She was closing in on the  
  
perfect charm that she knew would be better than Sallie's indoor tempest. Neville went to find  
  
Seamus and Dean. Harry needed to find Professor McGonagall to tell her that he had found a  
  
new beater. That left Ron and Sallie.  
  
  
  
"Do you want to go practice for Quidditch a little? I can show you what you'll need to know,  
  
now that you're our newest team member," he said. She agreed, but their plans were foiled  
  
when they found the Hufflepuff team already taking a few warm up laps on their brooms.  
  
  
  
"Let's just go to the common room for a while," she said. He nodded and they walked  
  
together silently. The room was empty when they got there and they both flopped down on the  
  
couch. Ron looked at Sallie. "It was really cool, what you did to Draco."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, you were right, he's an ass. I hope his face is all messed up now. Stupid funker," she  
  
said. Ron laughed at Sallie. She bit her lip, then asked him, "What did Draco mean when he  
  
asked if I was Hermione's replacement? Were you and Hermione an item? I could so picture  
  
you two together."  
  
  
  
He took a deep breath, then said, "Well, we weren't an 'item', whatever you mean by that. I  
  
liked her, but she never liked me back."  
  
  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. You seem okay now though."  
  
  
  
"Well, that's because I've found someone new."  
  
  
  
He then leaned his head against Sallie's so that they were looking right into each other's eyes.  
  
His hand slid over so that he was holding hers. She leaned in and brought her face to his. He  
  
grabbed her head gently and pulled her lips to his. Sallie pushed back, almost fighting Ron for  
  
the kiss. One thing she had to say for Salem: American cable television had taught her a lot. She  
  
and Ron alternately gave kisses and took them, snuggled together on the common room couch.  
  
When Sallie came up for air, she looked at Ron. His hair was all messy and his robe was  
  
rumpled. She took a deep breath and thought about what had just happened. She was about to  
  
ask just that when Ron beat her to the punch.  
  
  
  
"What just happened?" he asked.  
  
  
  
She laughed nervously. "You tell me, because I don't know." She laughed and leaned her head  
  
on the couch. In the somewhat awkward silence, they heard approaching footsteps. Deciding to  
  
cover up what had just happened; they straightened one another out and tried to make some light  
  
conversation.  
  
  
  
"So I read this book about pirates recently, but I don't think little kids should read it," Ron joked.  
  
  
  
"Why not," she asked.  
  
  
  
"Well, let me put it this way. If it were a Muggle movie, it would be rated ARRRRGH!" Ron  
  
and Sallie howled with laughter, half-genuine, half part of the act.  
  
  
  
They heard the footsteps enter the room and saw Harry, fresh from speaking with Professor  
  
McGonagall. "Hey guys," Harry said. "Sallie, you're officially a member of the Gryffindor  
  
Quidditch team. McGonagall approved you. She just wanted you to get a lot of practice in  
  
before our first game. Ron wasn't telling you any of his stupid jokes again, was he?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah, he was. You know Ronnie is just the funniest guy." Harry looked at her, then  
  
looked at Ron, as if waiting for a reaction.  
  
  
  
"What?" Ron asked.  
  
  
  
"You're going to let her do that?"  
  
  
  
"Do what?"  
  
  
  
"Call you Ronnie?"  
  
  
  
"Why not?"  
  
  
  
"You hate being called Ronnie. You've never let anyone call you Ronnie before, not even  
  
Hermione or me. In fact, I think I remember you telling me about your mum calling you Ronnie,  
  
and then something about soap and, well, maybe you remember the story better. You should tell  
  
Sallie that story sometime. I think she'd really laugh at that." Harry gave Ron a knowing wink,  
  
and then turned to look at Sallie.  
  
  
  
Ron glared at Harry pointedly, then shrugged. "Well, you guys never really laughed at my jokes,  
  
not even my mum. Only Sallie here appreciates the value of my humor." Harry rolled his eyes  
  
and barely contained a laugh. "I think I've really found my audience." He glanced in Sallie's  
  
direction.  
  
  
  
"Well, audience or no audience, we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts next and there's  
  
another new professor," Harry said sarcastically.  
  
  
  
"Well that's a surprise," Ron said.  
  
  
  
"Let me guess: new professor every year. It's the same way at Salem, they never stick around.  
  
One went to work here my first year, man by the name of Lockhart. Now he was a dumb cow,  
  
what a stupid heifer. He said he had to leave us because he had gotten a call from your Ministry  
  
of Magic and they wanted him to go on a top secret mission to rid some forest of some spider  
  
thing, an Acromanto or something."  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron both snorted. They'd met the Forbidden Forest's head Acromantula, Aragog, and  
  
barely survived. Lockhart wouldn't have gone to him willingly if they paid him ten thousand  
  
Galleons. "At least he left you with a valid excuse. Here, he had a rather bad run in with an  
  
Obliviate charm. He's probably drooling on himself at St. Mungo's right now," Harry mused.  
  
They all laughed hysterically as they started to leave the room.  
  
  
  
"I just hope this professor isn't like Lockhart. No more pixies, please," Ron said.  
  
  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
A/N: I know we've been moving the spacing around in the story a lot. We promise that this is  
  
the end of the moving around. This is our first fan fiction here so we want it to be perfect.  
  
Thanks to our reviewers so far. To everyone else: help us out.. R/R. sallieandbialk.  
  
**************************************************************************** ** 


	8. DADA, White MagicStyle

Harry, Ron and Sallie made their way through the castle to the Defense against the Dark Arts  
  
room. Halfway there, they crossed paths with Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean who were  
  
also on their way to DADA.  
  
  
  
"So what did you guys do during your free? That free time was so much better than suffering  
  
through Trelawney again. 'Oh, Harry, the burden of the Inner Eye shows me that a horrible fate  
  
is to befall you this weekend. Harry, the tea leaves show me that the intersection of Pisces and  
  
Venus in the tenth house will cause many troubles for you this month.' I'm so happy I dropped,"  
  
Harry said.  
  
  
  
"See? You guys should have been smart and dropped like me a while ago," Hermione said.  
  
"Anyway, I went to the library."  
  
  
  
"There's a surprise," Ron whispered. Neville and the other boys snickered. "Sallie and I went to  
  
the pitch to go practice, but Hufflepuff was already there, so we just sat and joked around in the  
  
common room."  
  
  
  
"OOO! Ron and Sallie were snogging in the common room," Dean shrieked. Ron swallowed  
  
loudly and Sallie became preoccupied with her fingernails.  
  
  
  
"Hey guys, it's almost time for class. Let's go," Harry said, desperate to relieve Ron's  
  
embarrassment. They all walked into class, dreading another Lockhart-esque professor.  
  
However, when they walked into class, they didn't see any professor at all.  
  
  
  
"Maybe there's no teacher at all," Sallie said hopefully. "Have you guys ever heard of the 5  
  
minute rule? If the teacher's not here in 5 minutes, I'm leaving."  
  
  
  
Suddenly, the students heard a fluttering noise behind them. A giant snowy owl was fluttering  
  
down from on top of the bookcase. "Hedwig! What's she doing here Harry," Ron asked.  
  
  
  
"That's not Hedwig," Harry said, as the owl transformed in front of their eyes. A young wizard  
  
in dark blue robes materialized in front of the class and began to write notes feverishly on the  
  
board.  
  
  
  
"No, I am not, sir, though I can understand your confusion," the new professor said, without  
  
turning away from his furious note writing. "How many snowy owls do you see around  
  
Hogwarts anyway? And please put away that copy of Witch Weekly, miss, I don't appreciate  
  
other reading materials in my class." Lavender blushed and put away the article she was  
  
showing Parvati. "Now, please read over what I have written on the board. This year you will  
  
be learning more protective magic than any other year. You have all learned about the  
  
Unforgivables and dark creatures. This year, you will learn ways to save yourself. I expect  
  
some of you will already have a bit of a head start in this area," the professor said, finally turning  
  
around to gaze at Harry.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me sir, but I have one little question. What's your name? You're giving us all these  
  
notes, but we don't even know who you are. I think we could be entitled to that," Sallie said.  
  
  
  
"Well, miss, I am Professor Artemis Clark. And judging by your accent, you must be Miss  
  
McFly. Welcome to Hogwarts. Has everyone finished taking the notes I've written?" The  
  
entire class nodded in agreement. "Ignore them for now and listen to me. The only way to  
  
completely defeat the Dark Arts is to counter with all the power of the Light." Several students  
  
scoffed, but most were already drawn to the professor's dramatic delivery. "Now that you all  
  
have the notes, please pair up, as you need to learn some rudimentary protection spells. I expect  
  
you all know of 'Expelliarmus', so I won't spend time on reviewing that. However, we will  
  
practice that today. We will also be practicing 'Contego', the shielding spell. This spell will  
  
protect you from simple curses. Would you now all split up into your pairs and spread out  
  
around the room? Practice Expelliarmus first, then Contego, but only after I have come around  
  
to you and seen your progress."  
  
  
  
The class jumped out of their seats and paired up all around the room. Harry and Ron took one  
  
corner near Sallie and Hermione. Neville and Parvati paired up across the room, as did Seamus  
  
and Dean. The whole class remembered Expelliarmus from their time in the dueling club, but  
  
were also able to pick up the shielding spell quickly. Even Neville's Contego stood up to a Leg-  
  
locker curse. The remainder of the class passed quickly, and when the bell rang, the students  
  
trudged, disappointed, out of the class. 


End file.
